The Arab world's most famous cross-dresser has a show of his own this Ramadan season. Airing every night during the Muslim holy month, the program is a comical, music-infused spin on the age-old "One Thousand and One Nights."

Led by Member of Parliament Kanimozhi, speakers at a seminar here on Thursday underscored the need for initiatives for brining the transgendered to the mainstream. Society's discomfort with difference was the main reason driving the discrimination against the transgendered, Ms. Kanimozhi told the seminar organised by FICCI(Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) Ladies Organisation (FLO). The inclusion of the transgendered to the mainstream was the theme of the seminar.

Excerpt: Fortunately, Barney Frank and the House Democratic leadership are more realistic politically and hopefully HRC's usual pragmatism will keep it on board, even if trans protections are removed. If HRC holds tough, no one will sing their praises higher than your's truly, though to me the decision is a political, moral and civil rights no-brainer.

Even as the Senate passed a hate crimes bill sought for a decade by gays and lesbians, House Democratic leaders decided Thursday to strip transgender people from another long-languishing civil rights bill, generating dismay in the gay community and furious but fruitless lobbying for more time.

This is a "connect the dots" post. It's an hindsight argument as to why HRC's/Logo's VisibleVote* 08<http://visiblevote0 8.logoonline. com/> choice of Jonathan Capehart was an LG choice for a journalist/question er, and not an LGBT choice for an LGBT debate.

Rep. Barney Frank will introduce two separate versions of the Employment Non discrimination Act -- one that prohibits job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and another one that does the same for transgender people, his staff said Friday.

The offices of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and out gay Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank have confirmed that the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, will be taken up by the Labor and Education Committee without protections for transgendered Americans that were part of the bill as originally introduced this year.

There's a debate raging in the gay community over an upcoming vote on the most important piece of civil rights legislation to the gay community, ever. We are on the verge of passing, at the federal level, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation that would make it illegal for an employer to fire, not hire, no promote another wise qualified employee or job candidate simply because they're gay. Some are now arguing that if transgendered people are not included in ENDA, the gay community should not support its passage.

I had the great good fortune this morning of sitting on a panel at the Out & Equal conference here in D.C., discussing ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act). Like everyone else on the panel, when I accepted the invitation I had no idea that two days before the panel, the Blade would break the story that leaders in the House were getting ready to remove "gender identity" from ENDA to ensure passage -- basically, dropping transgenders to get some conservative freshman Dems on board.

Fresh on the heels of Southern Comfort Conference (SCC), many of the transgender community reveled in what seemed a penultimate victory: HRC – yes, the Human Rights Campaign – was actually appearing to take the transgender community as equals. (Obviously the ultimate victory would be equal rights for us all, jobs and all.) All of the years of HRC’s historic missteps seemed to magically disappear. We’re now a welcome, if amnesiac community for the Equal Sign people.

Yesterday's historic cloture-proof vote in support of the Matthew Shepard Act, commonly referred to as the hate crimes bill was a major victory. Every Democratic Senator joined together with a handful of Republicans to reach 60 votes in favor of a bill that classifies crimes against people that are motivated by their sexual orientation or gender identity a federal crime.

A spokesman for the Family Research Council (FRC) says the "hate crimes" legislation passed by the Senate yesterday poses a major threat to Americans who publicly express their opposition to homosexuality. He is also denouncing the successful effort to attach that legislation to the Defense Authorization bill.

Randy Thomasson, the president of the Campaign for Children and Families says, "This bill is completely unnecessary because every violent crime is a crime of hate. In actuality, this is more about promoting homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality than it is about preventing crime."

Politicians are often accused of being irrelevant. But rarely has a group of them been so intent on proving that charge than the senators who voted last week for The Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007.

At the age when most small children are thinking about their first day of school and how to ride a bike, Gwen Haworth (who at the time was a young boy named Steven) knew that her gender identity was awry.

House Democratic leaders are strongly considering dropping anti-discrimination protections for transgender persons from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, after an internal Democratic head count on Wednesday found that the bill would likely be defeated if it included the trans provision, multiple sources familiar with the bill said.

If media reports from the last 24 hours are accurate, it is unconscionable that congressional leaders would rush to a decision to strip protections for transgender people at the same time as states across the nation are adding these protections at an unprecedented pace.

Senators voted Thursday morning to give the federal government more jurisdiction to prosecute hate crimes and included protections for gay, lesbian and transgender victims, attaching the measure to an annual defense policy bill.

Excerpt: "While transgender people still have many obstacles to overcome, we are overjoyed that the hard work of so many people is coming to fruition," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

A rare event has occurred in the area of gender studies - the publication of "The Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman On Sexism and The Scapegoating of Femininity" by Julia Serano. Not often do readers have the luxury of reading a thorough, fairly objective yet personal appraisal of misogyny from a transsexual woman.

''Largo'' used to conjure images of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, or lodge Bertie Higgins' ''Key Largo'' lyrics in your head. Today, Largo is more likely -- at least within the GLBT community -- to remind a person of something entirely different: discrimination.

This is just despicable. On the fifth anniversary celebration night of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, an organization that provides free legal services and advocacy to low-income people of color who are transgender, gender non-conforming or intersex, two of their community members were attacked and arrested without warning by the 9th precinct of the NYC Police Department, as well as others being pepper sprayed in the face.

Excerpt: Now that Congress is discussing the merits of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, we would do well to remember that there are plenty of men and women like Diaz who are still struggling against prejudice and stereotypes to attain their dream careers -- no matter how lofty or earthbound those happen to be.

According to the Washington Blade:<http://www.washblad e.com/thelatest/ thelatest. cfm?blog_ id=14507> -- "House Democratic leaders are strongly considering dropping anti-discrimination protections for transgender persons from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, after an internal Democratic head count on Wednesday found that the bill would likely be defeated if it included the trans provision, multiple sources familiar with the bill said. "

quinta-feira, setembro 27, 2007

Today in our brand new feature "Seriously, that's an issue for you? Ummm, OK, well, I'll be over here being, y'know, normal" Timothy Burke over at Terranova has a thoughtful discussion of reports that a Chinese MMOG has suspended the accounts of players whose avatars (and those readers of a genteel disposition may wish to turn away now) were not the same sex as the player!

No virtual boobies for males in King of the World. It's all gone tits-up - or "out", more aptly - for numerous Chinese blokes playing MMO King of the World, as the game's publisher has brought the axe down on in-game sex changes for men.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that transsexuals are not a protected class and affirmed a transportation company's decision to terminate a male bus driver for planning to use public women's restrooms during work. Under pending legislation in Congress, the outcome could have been drastically different.

A federal appeals court has issued a significant ruling saying that an employer's concern over the use of restrooms by "transsexual" employees is legitimate, according to Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum. Raum explained further that the court ruled that "transsexuals" do not qualify as a protected class under Title VII.

quarta-feira, setembro 26, 2007

[Iran] Sex change funding undermines no gays claimWhen Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's combative president, provoked his latest controversy in New York this week by asserting that there were no homosexuals in his country, he may have been indulging in sophistry or just plain wishful thinking.While Mr Ahmadinejad may want to believe that his Islamic society is exclusively non-gay, it is a belief undermined by the paradox that transsexuality and sex changes are tolerated and encouraged under Iran's theocratic system.

[Russia] Androgynous boy with female genitals refuses to become womanA Moscow-based hospital performed an operation on an androgynous boy who had a genetic set of chromosomes typical of female organisms. At his very young age the boy was diagnosed as having cryptorchidism. His parents, natives of the Middle East, wanted the son to grow older to have a special operation to solve the problem. The boy faced first problems in connection with the diagnosis at the age of twelve when he discovered that his genitals were bleeding.

[Singapore] [Books/People]Leonard to Leona, Singapore transsexual bares allAt the age of 10, Leonard Lo was determined to become a woman.Now 22 years later, Singaporean transsexual Leona Lo details the shame and anger she felt on her journey in a cathartic book that is raising eyebrows in this regulated city-state with old-fashioned attitudes toward sex.

To perpetrate a crime of violence against an individual solely because of his race, religion, color, creed, or national origin is so morally repugnant that it necessarily engenders outrage in people of good will. It is, therefore, not only instinctive but commendable that a concerned society would want to do something meaningful to deter what is essentially an insult to the national conscience.

Excerpt: Unfortunately, some clergy across the nation have joined together to oppose this bill in an aggressive and divisive manner. For instance, conservative African-American leaders - most notably Bishop Harry Jackson of Maryland's Hope Christian Church - have been inundating the media and faith communities with the message that this legislation will allow police to storm into worship services and arrest clergy if they speak against being gay. They make the incendiary allegation that the bill will create "thought crimes" by punishing people for thinking ill of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

When I was South Carolina Coordinator for Lesbian Issues in NOW many years ago, I introduced a resolution at the state level in the National Organization for Women. That resolution which included trangender women made it clear that all women were to be part of the organization's membership and that all legislation that NOW would endorse must include all women. That resolution made it all the way to the National level and was passed. It is sad that some women still have less right to speak freely and lack equal protection under the law. I received this e-mail from a woman who simply made a call for a paper. I wish to share this with all parties who support the right of all women to be heard. - Curtis E. Hinkle, Founder: Organisation Intersex International

Excerpt: If passed this autumn, the legislation, known as ENDA, would protect the freedom of Americans like Officer Carney to do the jobs that they love without enduring constant discrimination and harassment. The legislation would finally make it illegal for employers to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

segunda-feira, setembro 24, 2007

[International] [History/Commentary]Anti-gay, anti-trans laws rooted in class ruleIn today’s capitalist citadels, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans mass political movements have overturned many oppressive laws against same-sexuality and cross-dressing. The imperialist ruling classes would be relieved if these movements would now redirect their collective ire against laws still on the books in today’s former colonies and neocolonies.

[UK] Court tries to set a genderA transsexual robber who struck wearing a miniskirt and knickers on his head created a problem for magistrates, who were unsure whether to remand him in a male or female prison.

[Malaysia] [Letters to the Editor]Recognise their needsI THANK StarMag for the article, Seeking acceptance (Insight, Sept 9) which highlighted the plight of transsexuals.

[Indonesia] Transgendered in MalangThe waria community in this East Javanese city are out in the open, but misunderstanding and prejudice are still widespread.Photo: 82 year old male to female transgender Ibu Siama at the volleyball match

[Indonesia] Indonesia’s transgendered community is raising its profileBefore she even opens her mouth, the petite, jilbab-wearing and refined looking Shuniyya Ruhama Habiiballah has already gone a long way towards achieving one of her driving missions in life: to challenge the dominant stereotype of Indonesia’s large transgendered community, who describe themselves as waria, a term for transgendered people derived from the words wanita (woman) and pria (man). Photo: Popular stereotype: the waria hair salon worker by Irfan Kortschak

There is a better than fair chance that his death sentence, for participating in a notorious triple homicide in 1993, will be commuted to one of life in prison.

In separate trials, Lotter, 36, and Marvin Nissen, 35, were convicted of first-degree murder in the slayings of Teena Brandon and two other people in a farmhouse near Humboldt in southeast Nebraska. Brandon was a cross-dresser who represented herself as a man, using the name Brandon Teena.

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation's largest, independent medical student organization, representing more than 68,000 physicians-in-training, urges the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R.2015), in order to protect every American from discriminatory employment practices based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

[Lithuania] Euro court rules for Lithuanian transsexualsThe European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling Sept. 11 strengthening the rights of transsexuals in Lithuania.Such individuals already had the right to officially change their gender but the nation has failed to pass enabling legislation necessary for them to gain access to full sex-reassignment surgery through the country's health care system.

[MN,USA] Transgendered Woman Says She Was Asked to Leave Church PositionsThis spring, Eyewitness News told you about a Duluthian who was born a man and the struggle with becoming a transgendered woman. Since our story aired, Marla Evans received support from some people while she says she was let go from two roles at her church, St. Mary's Star of the Sea in Duluth.

[USA] [Blog]What do you think of post op MTF transgenders who like women?I wasn't sure where I was meant to post this, so basically I'd like to talk about my experience and just ask in general what women here think about post op mtf transgenders who like women. I have also seen them being referred to as trannydykes or lesbian transsexuals on various sites. But I don't want to go into naming because that may be a sensitive issue for some here. Neither is the question about whether you would date a completely transitioned mtf woman, but basically about where you think they fit in the lesbian and biwomen community and if you think they belong.

[USA] The Dangers of ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act)Excerpt: After reading this story, Vic introduced Matt Barber, the Director of Policy for Cultural Issues for CWA (Concerned Women for America). He appeared on Crosstalk to discuss ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, also known as HR 2015.ENDA would essentially grant federally protected minority status to people based upon sexual orientation (homosexuality) or gender identity (cross- dressers), while at the same time committing wrongful discrimination against people of faith. Specifically, under ENDA, sexual morality could not be considered a factor in hiring or housing.[Blog/News]More Than 12,000 PFLAG Allies Ask Congress to Protect Gay WorkersOn Monday, September 24, the National Staff of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National will hand-deliver more than 12,000 pro-equality postcards from constituents across the country to both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. The individually written cards were collected from 40 states across the country as part of PFLAG's campaign, "People Don't Get Fired for Being Straight" to support the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).[Letters to the editor] Transgender 'patriot' speaks outFirst, before I begin, I just want to let you know that I support WND and the work you do primarily as it relates to the illegal-alien invasion and the North American Union. My feedback below doesn't change that. I recently read an article on WND about companies who were listed as providing workplaces safe from discrimination against LGBT employees. I am not only transgender, but I'm very active in the patriot movement. I began this journey when I was very young, and it's been some years now. I feel badly that the "T" is almost always associated with the LGB as well. I often times do not agree with their politics. In fact, I almost never do. I'm very patriotic, and their politics cannot typically be characterized as patriotic.

[USA] [News/Television]Baldwin's Not Hiding This CandyCould Candis Cayne become the first transsexual Emmy winner?Come Sept. 26, she'll definitely have a shot at it. Cayne pops up in the new ABC prime-time drama Dirty Sexy Money playing Carmelita, the secret transsexual lover of a U.S. senator, played by William Baldwin.

A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that found transsexuals are not covered by federal discrimination laws.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Krystal Etsitty had no legal recourse in fighting her firing by the Utah Transit Authority in 2005.

The court, which sits in Denver, found that the trial judge was correct in finding that the transit authority feared it could be sued by people born biologically female if it were discovered Etsitty still had male genitals.

[UK] 'I was Paul for 51 years - then I became Paula'Excerpt: Now almost 57, Paula says that having a sex change wasn't a lifestyle choice. She admits she has paid an enormous personal price, but suggests the overwhelming need was finally to be true to her real nature. Because Paul retained his German citizenship, the sex change has full legal recognition there. Paula has a new German birth certificate which states that she is now officially female.

[Australia] Australian Transsexual In 'Catch 22'A transsexual who transitioned from male to female in 2002 has been handed a difficult choice by Australia's Federal Court - either divorce your wife or keep your male designation of official documents.

[Australia] Passport Snub 'Unjust'The Federal Government has refused to issue a post-operative trans woman a female passport on the basis that she is married to a woman.PHOTO: Fiona Power and Grace Abrams

Excerpt: The report notes that it is now possible to fire or refuse to hire someone for being lesbian, gay and bisexual in 30 states, while transgender workers can be denied or refused jobs in 38 states.

You may be hearing about legislation HR 2015 currently pending in the US House of Representatives entitled "Employment Non-Discrimination Act" or "ENDA." It's stated purpose is "to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity."

[UK]Calendar boys are transtasticLOADS of men's groups have stripped for cheeky nude calendars to raise money for charity.Usually the lads are beefy firemen, hunky cops or even fun-loving farmers.But now there's a new bunch of blokes in the mix – and they all used to be WOMEN.

[Nigeria]Bauchi Cross-Dressing Men Re-Arrested, Served Fresh ChargesThe 18 men accused of dressing up as women in a Shaira court have been rearrested and recharged.The men were granted bail by a Tudun Alkali Sharia court judge last month. Yesterday they were remanded in custody in a court session that was closed to the public.

[FL, USA]“Putting the ‘T’ Back in LGBT”We hear it all the time: "The LGBT Community." We call our selves the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, but too often we don't include all the members of our community when we fight for rights or equality.Some find it increasingly convenient to simply leave out the "T" when asking for support from the American public for the sake of "smallsteps" to equality. Why do leave out the part of us that needs us the most? The transgender citizens of our community need our help and support.

segunda-feira, setembro 17, 2007

Every now and then, Professor J Michael Bailey appears, along with his supporters to argue against those who are his critics. I can sympathize with him for doing this considering the sometimes hate filled personal attacks Bailey has been subjected to. But there is a problem.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has said today it anticipates the High Court will tomorrow affirm the right of an individual who has undergone gender reassignment to be recognised as female on her birth certificate. (Please note: There is to be a delay in the announcement of this ruling by the Irish High Court. The ruling is now expected in October.)

There are few topics I have generally avoided in this column – but I want to get into one of them this time out. I want to discuss transgender bodies. As a friend of mine said when I had suggested the topic, "We all have one."

domingo, setembro 16, 2007

Is your organization "religious enough," or could you be forced to hire homosexual employees? If a male employee comes to work dressed as a woman, what can you do? What about a female news anchor who undergoes a "transition" to become a man?

If the Employment Non-Discrimination Act becomes law, it's likely the courts will decide all of that for you.

A new chapter opened this week in a vicious, media-led witchhunt that is outing gays in Uganda, when a daily newspaper unveiled the latest installment of what it bills as its "Weird Sex Investigation", publishing the names and detailed descriptions of 40 men it claimed are gay..

If you haven't seen "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (2001), then the documentary "Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig" will mean little to you.

And unless you support the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and want to peek into the lives of youths who attend the Harvey Milk High School, labeled by the press as the first "gay high school" in New York, this film will bore you.

FOR THE FIRST time since it was introduced 13 years ago, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act received a hearing before the key committee of jurisdiction in the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

The Bishops and Elders Council, a network of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) affirming churches and organizations touching the lives of 98 million North Americans, has called on the U.S. Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and on President Bush to sign it into law.

According to a recent report from America's Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC), the number of major corporations that have added gender identity and expression to their non-discrimination policies has topped 200.

Philadelphia police reported only four hate crimes against lesbians and gays last year, but GLBT activists say many more incidents went unreported, either due to victims not coming forward or police failing to accurately record their complaints.